Reports, correspondence, minutes, conference proceedings, resolutions, speeches,
pamphlets, discussion bulletins, newsletters, and printed matter, relating to activities
of the Partido Comunista Mexicano from its formation in 1919 until its merger with other
parties in 1981, including electoral, trade union, student and other activities, and
activities both at the national level and within various states.

Background

The Partido Comunista Mexicano (P.C.M.) was organized in September 1919 by Mexican
socialists under the direction of Comintern representatives Manabendra Nath Roy and
Michael Borodin. The political instability and radicalism of the final years of the
Mexican Revolution, combined with a native tradition of anarcho-syndicalism and trade
unionism, created a party with a large rural following, as well as strength among
transport workers, miners, educators and intellectuals. The party probably reached
maximum strength (approximately 30,000 members) during the Popular Front period, when it
cooperated with the administration of President Lazaro Cardenas (1934-1940). By 1960, the
membership was estimated at 3,000. In 1940, two important leaders, Hernan Laborde and
Valentin Campa, expelled from the P.C.M. for "right opportunist deviation", formed the
Partido Obrero-Campesino Mexicano (P.O.C.M.). In 1948, the Partido Popular Socialista
(P.P.S.) was established by Vincente Lombardo Toledano. From its inception, the P.P.S.
was more influential; its larger membership allowed its candidates to qualify for
election registration, a goal which the P.C.M. was never able to achieve under the old
electoral law.